Yarn bundle with piecing end and method of forming same

ABSTRACT

A yarn bundle wound on a support including a piecing end having an initial piecing winding wound around an end portion of the support and a principal piecing winding wound over the initial piecing winding with a reverse pitch relative thereto such that the initial piecing winding is captured by the principal piecing winding, and a method of forming a yarn bundle with a piecing end as described above including moving a yarn guide toward an end of a support, catching yarn to be wound on the support near the end of the support to deliver the yarn to a rotating element to form the initial piecing winding, and moving the yarn guide away from the end of the support to form the principal piecing winding over the initial piecing winding.

I United States Patent [191 [111 3,858,816 Corbiere 1 Jan. 7, 1975 {54]YARN BUNDLE WITH PIECING END AND 3,030,039 4/1962 Roberts 242m; PWMETHOD OF FORMING SAME 3,284,026 11/1966 Zuidema 242/165 Inventor:Claude Corbiere, Riorges, France Rhone-Poulenc Textile, Paris, FranceFiled: Oct. 16, 1972 Appl. No.: 297,731

Assignee:

Foreign Application Priority Data Oct. 29, 1971 France 71.39876References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 12/1923 Andrew 242/165 5/1960Hausel 242/18 PW 8/1961 Keith et a], 242/18 PW Primary Examiner-StanleyN. Gilreath Attorney, Agent, or Firm--Sherman & Shalloway [5 7] ABSTRACTA yarn bundle wound on a support including a piecing end having aninitial piecing winding wound around an end portion of the support and aprincipal piecing winding wound over the initial piecing winding with areverse pitch relative thereto such that the initial piecing winding iscaptured by the principal piecing winding, and a method of forming ayarn bundle with a piecing end as described above including moving ayarn guide toward an end of a support, catching yarn to be wound on thesupport near the end of the sup port to deliver the yarn to a rotatingelement to form the initial piecing winding, and moving the yarn guideaway from the end of the support to form the principal piecing windingover the initial piecing winding.

6 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures YARN BUNDLE WITH PIECING END AND METHOD OFFORMING SAME BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention Thepresent invention pertains to yarn bundles wound on a support and, moreparticularly, to piecing ends for such yarn bundles and methods offorming the same.

2. Discussion of the Prior Art Yarn bundles utilized in the textileindustry are customarily provided with a piecing end; that is, a portionof the yarn in the bundle near an end of the support on which the yarnis wound is left exposed to define an end of the yarn bundle which maybe attached or pieced to an end of another yarn bundle to permituninterrupted reeling or other operations with severalbundles. Thepiecing end, sometimes referred to as a piecing winding, a reservewinding or a transfer tail, is normally formed of several loops of yarn,either contiguous or spaced, at an end portion of the winding supportwith the primary winding formed along the length of the support. Theterm yarn bundle as utilized herein includes any quantity of yarn woundaround a support, such as spools, cops or spindles, for example; and,the term yarn as utilized herein includes any elongate assembly offilaments or fibers of simple or complex structure for use in textilemanufacturing.

Piecing ends are formed on yarn bundles in order to permit joining orattaching of a plurality of yarn bundles on separate individual supportsthereby allowing continuous, uninterrupted unwinding of the yarn fromthe plurality of yarn bundles. Piecing ends are generally formed at thestart of the winding of a yarn bundle and normally include a free endwhich must be fixed to the winding support to prevent inadvertentunwinding of the piecing end during transportation and handling of theyarn bundle. In the prior art, the free end has been fixed to thewinding support by various means, such as utilizing an adhesive wafer ora drop of paste, inserting the end of the yarn in a notch in the base ofthe support or engaging the end of the yarn under a holding tonguedisposed on the base of the support of clamp the end of the yarn betweenthe tongue and the support.

The above described methods of fixing the free end of the piecing end tothe winding support have the disadvantage of requiring a supplementaryoperation to attach or fix the free end of the yarn to the support. Moreparticularly, the use of an adhesive wafer requires an extra operationin utilization of the piecing end since the adhesive wafer must beremoved to grasp the free end of the yarn and the adhesive wafer must bedisposed of thereby requiring additional and time consuming handling,and the use of a drop of paste for fixing requires accurate placement inorder not to adversely effect the wound yarn. The notch in the base ofthe support can be utilized only where the support is made of certainwood or plastic materials and causes, after a period of time,deterioration of the winding sup port. The use of clamping means, suchas the holding tongue, requires manipulation of the support prior towinding and additional handling of the yarn, such additional handlingrepresenting a supplementary operation increasing the cost of the yarnbundle.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is a primary object of thepresent invention to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art byfixing the free end of a piecing end of a wound yarn bundle withoutrequiring supplemental operations.

Another object of the present invention is to form a piecing end for ayarn bundle including an initial piecing winding around an end portionofa winding support and a principal piecing winding over the initialpiecing winding with a reverse pitch relative thereto to lock thepiecing end against the support.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a method offorming a piecing end for a yarn bundle wound on a rotating support bymoving a yarn to be wound to a rotating element for forming an initialpiecing winding and, thereafter, forming a principal piecing windingover the initial piecing winding to capture the same.

The present invention has an additional object in the use of areciprocating yarn guide for forming a piecing end and a primary windingofa yarn bundle without requiring movement of the yarn guide out of itsnormal reciprocating path.

Yet another object of the present invention is to cover or capture alength of yarn near the free end of the piecing end of a yarn bundle byloops constituting a principal piecing winding such that the length ofyarn is locked between the loops of the principal piecing winding withthe free end extending therefrom.

A further object of the present invention is to form a piecing end for awound yarn bundle with the end extending freely from the yarn bundle tofacilitate grasping of the piecing end for use.

Some of the advantages of the present invention over the prior art arethat piecing ends can be formed manually, semiautomatically orcompletely automatically without requiring additional or supplementaryoperations, there is substantially no risk of accidental or in advertentunwinding of the piecing end, and yarn bundles with piecing ends can beformed in reduced time with reduced cost.

The present invention is generally characterized in a yarn bundle woundon a support including a piecing end having an initial piecing windingwound around an end portion of the support, and a principal piecingwinding continuing from the initial piecing winding and wound over theinitial piecing winding with a reverse pitch relative thereto; and aprimary winding continuing from the principal winding wound around thelength of the support with the exception of the end portion such thatthe piecing end is adjacent the primary winding and the initial piecingwinding is locked by the principal piecing winding against the support.

The present invention is further generally characterized in a method offorming a piecing end for a yarn bundle wound on a rotating supportincluding positioning a length of yarn to be wound near an end of thesupport; moving a yarn guide toward the end of the support; catching thelength of yarn to be wound near the end of the support; delivering thecaught yarn to a rotating element to form an initial piecing windingaround an end portion of the support; and moving the yarn guide awayfrom the end of the support to form a principal piecing winding over theinitial piecing winding.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following description of the preferred embodimenttaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic frontelevation of apparatus for forming piecing ends according to the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic side elevation of the apparatus of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic front elevation of the apparatus of FIG; 1 justprior to delivery of the yarn to an engaging element for formation of aninitial piecing winding.

FIG. 4 is a side elevation of the apparatus of FIG. 1 after the yarn iscaught by the engaging element.

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic front elevation of the apparatus of FIG. 1after formation of the piecing end.

FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic flat pattern development of the yarn bundle andpiecing end of the present inventron.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Apparatus for forming yarnbundles having piecing ends in accordance with the present invention isillustrated in FIG. 1 and includes a tubular winding support 10, such asa pirn or bobbin, mounted on a spindle to abut a collar 12 at one end,the spindle being rotated by any suitable means for driving a shaft 14of the spindle such that the support rotates about its longitudinalaxis. An engaging element in the form of a finger 16 extends from theinside surface of collar 12 parallel to the longitudinal axis of thesupport 10 such that the finger 16 rotates with the spindle and thewinding support.

A length of yarn 18 to be wound is positioned near the end of support 10by means of a guide ring 20 upstream of the support 10, and the yarn 18is held in position downstream of guide ring 22 by any suitable means,such as a suction or vacuum source. The length of yarn 18 contactssupport 10 through an arcuate angle a1, and the path of the yarn 18between guide rings 20 and 22 is disposed at an angle a2 with a planetransverse to the longitudinal axis of support 10 and passing throughguide ring 22, the path of the yarn being such as to prevent contact ofthe yarn with finger 16.

A yarn guide 24 supported on a traveller, not shown, is moved along areciprocating path indicated by the arrow 26 back and forth parallel tothe longitudinal axis of the support 10, and the yarn guide 24 can beutilized to form both the piecing end according to the present inventionand the primary winding of a yarn bundle. The yarn guide may be providedwith reciprocating movement in any suitable manner, such as, forinstance, by the traveller mounting the yarn guide having a followerriding in a helicoidal groove in a rotating cylinder.

In operation, the apparatus prior to commencement of winding is in thestate illustrated in FIG. 1 with the yarn guide 24 moving toward the endof support 10 at collar 12, the length of yarn 18 being positioned nearthe end of support 10 at the angle a2 such that the tinger 16 cannotcatch the yarn as it rotates. As the yarn guide 24 moves forward, itcatches the yarn 18, as illustrated in FIG. 3, and delivers the yarn tobe caught by finger 16. The engagement of the yarn 18 with finger 16 maybe accomplished either by the initial orientation of the yarn 18 or bysupplying a thrust to the yarn due to the force from movement of yarnguide 24. In

order to extend the path of the guide 24 outside of the normal back andforth zone defined by lines X and Y in FIG. 6, a mechanism for extendingtravel of the guide is relied on, such as that disclosed in copendingpatent application Ser. No. 297,730, which is assigned to the sameassignee as the instant invention.

After finger 16 has seized the yarn, a cutting blade 28 is operated tobreak or cut the yarn downstream of the support 10 such that the yarnbegins to wind around the support 10. As winding commences, an initialpiecing winding is formed at a gradually diminishing distance fromcollar 12 as yarn guide 24 continues to move toward the collar. When theyarn guide reaches the end of reciprocating path 26, its direction ofmovement is reversed and formation of a principal piecing winding havinga reverse pitch relative to the pitch of the initial piecing winding isformed on the support. The principal piecing winding is formed over theinitial piecing winding to cover the same and capture it automaticallyto lock or fix the free end of the piecing end against the support. FIG.5 illustrates the movement of the yarn guide 24 away from the end of thesupport 10 at collar 12 toward an opposite end of the reciprocating paththereby forming the principal piecing winding and commencing theformation of the primary winding of the yarn bundle. The primary windingis completed by reciprocating movement of the yarn guide 24; and, sincethe yarn is never positioned downstream of the yarn guide at an angle tobe caught by finger 16, the primary winding will be formed along thelength of the support 10 with the exception of the end portion of thesupport where the piecing end is formed.

A yarn bundle formed by the method of the present invention isillustrated as a flat pattern in FIG. 6 and includes a piecing end 30formed on an end portion 32 of support 10, as shown in FIG. 5. Piecingend 30 is basically formed of an initial piecing winding 34 and aprincipal piecing winding 36. Initial piecing winding 34 terminates at afree end A which corresponds with the point at which the yarn 18 is cut,and the free end has a length extending from point A to a point B, withthe initial piecing winding 34 at the point B and with a point Cintermediate points A and B corresponding to the point at which the yarn18 is engaged by the finger 16. Point B represents the end of the freepart of the yarn defined by length AB which is not covered by the maintransfer winding 36. The length CD of the initial piecing windingcorresponds substantially with the length of yarn initially in contactwith support 10 through arcuate angle a1, and the length DE of theinitial piecing winding is the yarn wound on the support 10 as the yarnguide 24 continues its forward movement toward collar 12. Principalpiecing winding 36 extends between points E and F and is wound over theinitial piecing winding to form a locking zone between points E and F tocapture the initial piecing winding.

The primary winding 38 commences at point F and is wound aroundsubstantially the entire length of support 10 between lines X and Y asyarn guide 24 is reciprocated. Piecing end 30, thus, is adjacent primarywinding 38 and left exposed for use. The portion of principal piecingwinding 36 between F and F is contiguous with primary winding 38 anddisposed directly on the support whereas the portion of principalpiecing winding 36 between E and F covers initial piecing winding 34.

The yarn bundle of the present invention is wound continuously withoutthe addition of extra yarn or other materials for fixing the free end.Thus, the method of the present invention simply and reliably produces ayarn bundle having a captive piecing end, the method being easilyautomated.

The initial positioning of the length of yarn 18 prior to commencementof operation is important to the present invention in that the angle a2must be such that finger 16, which can be any engaging element ofsuitable configuration, will not catch the yarn during rotation of thespindle until the yarn is thrust out of position and delivered to finger16 by yarn guide 24. The initial positioning of the length of yarn 18also controls the length of the initial piecing winding, which desirablyis only a portion of a single loop around the support while theprincipal piecing winding includes a plurality of loops locking theinitial piecing winding against the support. It is noted, however, thatthe initial piecing winding can constitute more than one loop around thesupport.

Inasmuch as the present invention is subject to many variations,modifications and changes in detail, it is intended that all matterdescribed above or shown in the accompanying drawings be interpreted asillustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

l. A method of forming a piecing end for a yarn bundle wound on arotating support comprising the steps of positioning a length yarn to bewound near an end of the support;

moving a yarn guide toward the end of the support;

catching the length of yarn to be wound with the yarn guide near the endof the support; delivering the caught yarn for engagement with arotating element to form an initial piecing winding around an endportion of the support; and

moving the yarn guide away from the end of the support to form aprincipal piecing winding over the initial piecing winding.

2. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein said positioning stepincludes positioning the length of yarn to be wound at an oblique anglerelative to a plane transverse to the longitudinal axis of the supportand passing through a guide ring for the length of yarn.

3. The method as recited in claim 2 wherein said positioning stepincludes positioning the length of yarn to be wound to contact a portionof the surface ofthe support.

4. The method as recited in claim 1 including cutting the yarndownstream of the support after delivery of the caught yarn to therotating element.

5. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein said positioning stepincludes positioning the length of yarn to be wound such that therotating element cannot engage the yarn until delivery of the yarn bythe yarn guide.

6. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein said delivering stepincludes moving the yarn guide toward the end of the support afterdelivery of the caught yarn to

1. A method of forming a piecing end for a yarn bundle wound on arotating support comprising the steps of positioning a length yarn to bewound near an end of the support; moving a yarn guide toward the end ofthe support; catching the length of yarn to be wound with the yarn guidenear the end of the support; delivering the caught yarn for engagementwith a rotating element to form an initial piecing winding around an endportion of the support; and moving the yarn guide away from the end ofthe support to form a principal piecing winding over the initial piecingwinding.
 2. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein said positioningstep includes positioning the length of yarn to be wound at an obliqueangle relative to a plane transverse to the longitudinal axis of thesupport and passing through a guide ring for the length of yarn.
 3. Themethod as recited in claim 2 wherein said positioning step includespositioning the length of yarn to be wound to contact a portion of thesurface of the support.
 4. The method as recited in claim 1 includingcutting the yarn downstream of the support after delivery of the caughtyarn to the rotating element.
 5. The method as recited in claim 1wherein said positioning step includes positioning the length of yarn tobe wound such that the rotating element cannot engage the yarn untildelivery of the yarn by the yarn guide.
 6. The method as recited inclaim 1 wherein said delivering step includes moving the yarn guidetoward the end of the support after delivery of the caught yarn to therotating element.